Ten Years Evidence-based High-Tech Acupuncture-A Short Review of Centrally Measured Effects (Part II).
The assessment of acupuncture-induced effects on brain function is crucial. Ultrasound-assisted brain function monitoring and bioelectrical methods as well as near infrared spectroscopic procedures and functional magnetic resonance investigations form the basis for the latest scientific examination methods for acupuncture research. The laserneedle acupuncture, which was examined scientifically for the first time in Graz, represents a new painless and non-invasive acupuncture method. In this way, individual combinations of acupuncture points can be stimulated simultaneously according to traditional Chinese medicine. In the context of double-blind studies, effects in the brain could be demonstrated in a reproducible manner for the first time. This second part of the short review article summarizes some of the centrally measured effects of acupuncture obtained at the Medical University of Graz within the last 10 years.
Litscher
Gerhard
G
Research Unit of Biomedical Engineering in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 29, A-8036 Graz/Austria. gerhard.litscher@meduni-graz.at.